Down The Wild Roads
by obsidian d e c e i t
Summary: A WILD ROAD & THE GOLDEN CAT FIC (books by Gabriel King): Tag & Leonora decide to visit Cottonreel's community, but their plans are dashed by some unexpected events. Please check out if you like Gabriel King's books or the book Tailchaser's Song.


Down the Wild Roads  
-by Fay  
  
All unfamiliar names and characters are mine, but the Wild Road, The Golden Cat, and all of the other old characters are copywrited to Gabriel King.  
  
This is my first attempt at a single fic - please read & review!  
  
PLEASE NOTE....This story used to be (and probobly still is) posted on my old ff.net account, which I cannot get into by a weird accident involving me typing in the wrong email address on the settings page and-ANYWAY, I am the same person as Fayden Amastacia. Just so you know I didn't rip the story off or anything. Lol....  
  
***  
  
Leonora Whitstand Merril, the daughter of the King and Queen of cats, and apprentice to the great Majicou, Mercurius Realtime DeNeuve - or Tag as everyone called him - was waiting. She had been waiting for quite some time and grew quite bored. She began to groom herself, and a figure appeared on the horizon. It was Tag.   
"Tag! You're late." she said.  
She said, "I've been waiting for you all morning."  
The adult cat jumped up beside her on the bench and began to groom himself. "I've been down on the wharf with Cy. I had bussiness there. Sorry."  
"Are we going to go out today?" Leo asked. She and Tag often ran the wild roads together, Leonora dancing and Tag following his nose.   
Tag finished grooming his haunches and looked up at her. "Where are Isis and Odin this morning?"   
Leo wrinkled her nose in irritation, but it was no use rushing Tag. "Up at the Tintagel headland. Isis is hunting with Ragnar, and Odin went somewhere with Mousebreath and Sealink."  
Tag nodded his head sagely. "I thought perhaps we could run the roads up the river towards the countryside - away from the sea."  
Leo purred happily. "Come on Mercury...lets go!"  
Tag twitched his tail and purred with her. "Patience Leo."  
  
***  
  
The two cats ran down the Old Changing Way. The shades of many cats that had come before them ran alongside, keeping pace. Leo moved her feet and jumped in a dance, giving and recieving the energy of the Old Changing Way in the same breath. Tag ran behind her, his white making him look almost like a cat-shade himself if it weren't for the dark tabby pattern on his face and the dark stripes on his legs and tail. He followed the golden image of Leo just ahead of him. They ran all morning - but time didn't matter on the wild roads.  
After some time they stopped to rest. The river was widening out, and it was beautifull all around. Leo delightedly chased butterflys through the fields of wildflowers. Tag sat by the river and thought. He had his own reasons for coming this way. He had been meaning for some time to check on the community of cats that was led by Cottonreel. Having overlooked it before, Mousebreath's tale had reminded him of it's existence.   
"Leo..don't wander off! Your mother would be in fits if I lost you again." he called to the golden kitten at the edge of the field.  
"I can watch myself! I'm old enough, and I'm going to be the next majicou!" she said.  
"Don't worry Tag!" she said.   
He sighed and lay down, tucking his paws under his chest and closed his eyes. He was tired after all, and the rivers soothing melody helped him drowze off.  
  
***  
  
Leonora Whitstand Merril loved chasing butterflys. There were many fields of long grass and flowers around the river, which turned into dark forests after a while. She ran through the grasses and chased her prey, carefull to keep Tag and the river in sight. She wouldn't get lost, but better to keep Tag pleased and stay in his sight. Speaking of Tag...he seemed to be asleep.   
"Silly Tag...we were supposed to be resting for just a little while." Leo said to herself.   
"Oh well." She said.  
So she didn't quite realize when she bumped up right next to a wildroad. Leo sniffed.   
"Hmm...smells like fun to me. Likely a small local road that twists around the countryside. Nothing dangerous." she told herself. It looked for the most part unused.   
Glancing back at Tag, she resolved to follow it a ways then come back before he woke.   
She sniffed out the opening once more and stepping forward, disappeared from the meadow.  
  
***  
  
Tag's dreams were pleasant. He was walking through a field of blue grass, following a golden bird. He had been hunting the bird always, but had never had more than a glimpse of it. He pounced and sprang, but caught nothing.  
  
***  
  
Tag awoke with a start. The sun was high ahead in the sky...noon time. He shook his head in hopes to clear it. The sun beat down on the back of his neck, and flys buzzed around his ears. Where was Leo??? He rose to his feet and looked around. No sign of her anywhere. Tag was angry....he had told her not to run off!  
"Leo!"   
"Leo are you there?"  
"Leonora Whitstand Merril come out now!"  
No sign of her, not even a whisp of a breeze stirred. Tag sighed. Leo always ended up causing trouble on innocent outings like these. He sat down once more to think. Leo would not of ran off into the forest. She would not of fallen into the river. She would not of gone home without waking him. But, she might of taken a wild road somewhere. Most probobly in the onward direction.  
Pleased with his reasoning, Tag sniffed out an entrance to the Old Changing Way and started towards Cottonreel's village. Perhaps Leonora had gone there.  
  
***  
  
Tag got off the Old Changing Way by the river once more, and he could see rooftops to the small cluster of houses through a grove of pines. He started towards them. Tag was not surprised when a cat came out to meet him. The cat that stepped out of the shadows had long white fur and a pretty face.  
"Welcome to the Village." she said.  
"Thank you. My name is Tag."  
She nodded, "Come with me. My name is Amalie. You could say... I work here."  
So. She had not recognized him as the Majicou. This could be a good thing, Tag decided.   
As they walked towards the houses Amalie told Tag of the work they did here in the Village. Cottonreel led thier campaign to heal injured cats that made thier way here. Even though the lab nearby was gone, some cats still came. Would he like to speak with Cottonreel, she asked him. He said he would.  
Cottonreel was sitting on the church steps. Tag approached cautiously, and Amalie sat ontop of a gravestone to groom herself.   
"I've heard alot about you from my two friends," Tag began. "I'm delighted to make your aquaintance. It sounds like you've helped alot of cats."  
He said, "My name is Tag."  
The white cat looked up with a mischevious expression on it's face. She was white, and very old looking. "No use talking honey, I'm deaf as a doornail!"  
Tag blinked. Oh, he thought. "Oh," he said.  
Cottonreel laughed. "No need to be shy, I can see you're not here for help. Come with me. I'll show you around the village."  
Tag nodded, and two started walking down the street. Amalie followed at a distance.   
"So why are you here honey?" Cottonreel asked.  
"Um..I'm here looking for a golden kitten. Her name's Leo. Have you seen her."  
The white cat shook her head.."I can't hear you. Your going to have to find someone else to help you I guess. Perhaps Stilton can, I'll take you to him."  
Tag nodded.   
  
***  
  
Stilton was lying on the stone wall surrounding the little house. He was big and healthy and strong looking. His coat shined, and his eyes were bright. Tag thought he looked like a respectable animal.  
Cottonreel greeted him and he nodded polietely to her, then turned to Tag.  
"Hi. New here huh? Well I'm Stilton."  
"I'm Tag. I'm looking for a golden kitten. Have you seen one."  
Stilton paused and blinked a few times. "A golden kitten? A big brute with a pretty coat, and one green eye?"  
Tag sighed. He had been afraid of this. "That is not the kitten I'm looking for. The kitten I'm looking for has two eyes, and her name is Leonora. Are you sure she didn't come here?" Tag asked.  
Stilton shook his head. "I seem to remember a friend of mine mentioning your name, once a long time ago. Do you know a cat named Animal X?"  
Tag shook his head. "I know the cat you speak of through the name of Mousebreath. He is doing quite well, thanks to the help he recieved here."  
Stilton purred. "Tell him, Stilton still remembers him, and tell the one eyed golden kitten if you ever see him that I wish him good luck in life."  
  
***  
  
Tag sat, downcast, at the edge of the Village. He had asked many cats that lived there, but none had seen Leonora. Where could Leo be? He tried not to think of what Rags and Pertelot would say. In a way, they had too much confidence in him. They would probobly just laugh it off as nothing, just a kitten's joke. Tag hated to burst their bubble, but he was just Tag, just one cat not a hero or anything else.   
And now he had lost Leo.  
"I've lost my own apprentice. What kind of a majicou am I?" he said to himself.  
"I think you're not a bad one." came a voice from behind him. Tag jumped to his feet and turned around. It was Amalie. He sat down again facing her.   
"It's easy for you to say that...but I've messed up my share of things, and now I've lost the Princess of cats somewhere out in the countyside." Tag said, eyes downcast.  
Amalie cocked her head to the side and thought. Tag glanced at her expectantly. "Come with me. I think I just might know where she is."  
  
***  
  
Tag followed Amalie through the forest's underbrush. They were aways away from the Village. Suddenly Amalie stopped and sniffed the air.   
"There is an entrance to a wild road here." she said matter-of-factly.  
"A wild road here? I didn't know that there were small roads that ran around the village!" Tag said, excited.   
Amalie shook her pretty head. "They don't run around the village. The Village was built here because of them being here. We've never been able to find out what created them out in the middle of nowhere. Everyone knows there hear, but they are almost never used."  
"Do you think they are safe for us to travel? I think it is very possible that Leonora could of used one of them today."  
Amalie nodded. "They are safe. You had better go first though, I am not familiar with running the roads."  
They sniffed the air again, and then were gone.   
  
***  
  
It was dark on the roads, and there were no shade cats to run alongside the two cats. This bothered Tag, but the he could still make his way okay. If the roads hadn't collapsed by no from under-use they weren't going to collapse now...hopefully. Tag could here Amalie's footsteps behind him, and he ran ahead bolder. These roads were twisted and hard to follow, but he could see the thick forest countryside below and could tell they were going the right direction - wherever that could lead them to.   
They ran for a long time. Or at least it seemed like it. It was dusk when Amalie finally called to Tag to stop. When they got off the road they were in a thick thick thick part of the forest. It was damp and hot, and there was no noises to be heard about. Except for the trickle of a stream ahead. Tag motioned for Amalie to follow him and they started through the trees towards the stream.  
Suddenly they came out into a small clearing. There the stream widened out to make a large pool, whose surface was strangely undisturbed. In the center was Leonora Whitstand Merril, Princess of cats. She was dancing, and the light of the setting sun shone on her fur and made it shine golden. And the starlight was in her eyes. She danced. All around her hovered beautifull purple butterflys and they danced with her. Tag caught his breath. Something strange was a foot.  
When he took his eyes from Leo, he saw that she was surrounded by four great menacing cats. Black as night, with cruel faces and red eyes and claws. They were advancing and pushing Leo closer and closer to the pool of water, but she didn't look at them. She only danced.  
"Leo!" Tag cried out, and the four monster cats turned toward him.   
"Leo! Run!" he said.  
"Amalie, get out of here!" He said.  
Mercurious Realtime DeNeuve seemed to grow larger as he sprang with a snarl and landed on the back of the first cat. The big cat tried to throw him off, but Tag sank his teeth into the back of his neck until he fell still. He looked up to find two of the cats charging at him, and the other flanking him. Leo was still dancing. Amalie was standing stone still and staring at Tag with big eyes. She began backing up and fled.  
Tag braced himself for the two cats charge, but he was still thrown off his feet onto the ground. He felt the cat's claws and teeth tearing into him, and he was unable to stop them. His last sight before he blacked out was Leo, surrounded by purple butterflys, dancing of the ledge into the pool of water with a splash.   
  
***  
  
Amalie ran around the edge of the clearing towards the spot where the golden kitten was dancing. She couldn't help Tag, but she might be able to save Leonora.  
  
***  
  
Tag had pleasant dreams. He was running through blue grass...stalking the golden bird he had barely ever seen. Suddenly he caught sight of it singing, perched on a fallen log. It's song was so sweet that Tag could hardly bear it. He pounced and caught the golden bird between his claws. But the singing didn't stop...it didn't stop  
  
***  
  
Tag was awake. He hurt all over, but a new strenth was in his bones and his gravely injured body. He jumped to his feet and toar the throat out of a surprised cat, turning he grappled another, fiercely biting him and clawing his soft underbelly. One more to go, he thought. The last cat hit him from behind, and caught Tag's tail in his teeth. Tag yowled and turned on him, raking his claws across the black cat's face. The black cat let go of his tail and lept at Tag's back. Tag darted under him and sprang at the blackcat's head. He latched onto it's throat and didn't let go. The cat ran around in circles and then dropped dead.   
Tag took three steps towards the pool of water then fell down unconcious.  
  
***  
  
Amalie stared at the kitten floundering in the water. The purple butterflies hovered above the surface. Amalie threw herself into the pool and paddled towards the golden bundle. Grabbing it by the nape of the neck she dragged it over to the side of the water where Tag was. The kitten sputtered and shook out it's fur.   
"Why did you save me?" Leo said.  
"You're nice." She said.  
"I'm Amalie of the Village. I think your friend is very hurt." Amalie glanced at Tag.  
"Mercury! Get up!" Leo sniffed Tag, and nudged him. The white cat was cut up all over, but still alive. Leo curled up beside him and began to lick him, as Amalie watched in amazement. The purple butterflies flew from Leo to cover Tag completely. They sat there on him, beating their wings.  
"Get them off him!" Amalie cried.  
"Watch." said Leonora, getting to her feet.  
And then the butterflies flew off into the night sky, leaving a fully healed Tag standing there looking at them.  
He looked at Leo. He looked at Amalie.  
Then turning to the golden kitten he said,  
"I'm glad you are alright Leo."   
He said, "You have alot of explaining to do."  
  
***  
  
Tag walked down the the waterfront. There was Cy, the tabby, sitting looking out at the sea. She turned to him as he walked up.  
"Nice night Jack. I'm hungry as a moose, let's eat." she said.  
He curled up next to her and licked her fur.  
"Have a nice day with Leo?" she asked, gazing at the stars.  
"You could say that..it was eventfull at the least."  
But Cy wasn't listening. She pulled in front of him two dead fish, and purred.  
"Look Ace! We got star-gaizy pie!"  
  
  
******************  
  
How did you like it? Maybe I'll write a sequal, but for now it stands alone. Please tell me what you think of it and review! 


End file.
